Stay on target

After a couple weeks of teasing, Fox has finally shed some light on Alien: Blackout. The next interactive adventure of Ellen Ripley’s daughter isn’t terrorizing a console near you but rather a mobile phone. And if you just want a spooky good time surviving Xenomorphs, Alien: Blackout might be the game for you. But for more hardcore fans, the real nightmare is what this game actually is compared to what they thought it might be.

Take a look at the teaser.

Developed by Rival Games and Theory Interactive, Fox describes Alien: Blackout as a “premium survival horror mobile game” where players try to hold onto their lives as well as save others on a downed Weyland-Yutani space station. They do so by carefully using emergency systems, maps, and motion trackers with limited power while making sure not to run into a deadly big old honkin’ alien. So far so good.

But considering this brief teaser consists for shifting between video monitors and waiting for a Xenomorph jump scare to break the tension, folks are already beginning to believe this is just a Alien-themed reskin of the Five Nights at Freddy’s formula, a formula that already ran out its welcome after six games worth of material for racist teenagers to shriek over on YouTube. Although honestly the Xenomorph would be way scarier as an animatronic pizza mascot.

There have been plenty of bad Alien games over the years. Remember Aliens: Colonial Marines? But the reason Alien: Blackout stings is because between the name, lengthy teasing, and continuation of Amanda Ripley’s storyline, fans really thought they were getting a full-fledged PC/console sequel to the surprisingly excellent survival horror game Alien: Isolation from 2014. We won’t know for sure until we play it for ourselves, but this mobile game doesn’t look like that. Fortunately, gamers don’t yet seem to be throwing a tantrum, unlike with Diablo Immortal from last year. And hopefully there is an actual Alien: Isolation sequel coming, just like actual Diablo 4. What a great thing to potentially announce on the inexplicable Alien Day this April 26.

Alien: Blackout launches on the App Store and Google Play store later this month. Here’s hoping the next Alien game draws inspiration from Alien: Covenant and is just a Michael Fassbender simulator.